The Night Before
by friendlyintentions
Summary: Tomorrow's the day. Their most dangerous mission yet, where Akira would try and escape death. Having just started dating him, Makoto is nervous. She decides to spend the night with him. Takes place during 11/18 and 11/21


Makoto didn't like leaving things to chance.

When a problem presented itself to Makoto that she felt ill-prepared for, her response was to prepare that much harder. This way, her inner anxiety would be assuaged that she had prepared completely and them some.

Yet here we are today...

She had just delivered her sister the calling card, with Sae reading it almost as if she expected to receive one. Makoto, for her part, was proud of her performance; no cracks in her poker face, no breaks in her armor, no slip-up revealing that she's part of the very group that sent this to her. She played her part exactly as she outlined for herself. What surprised her was how cool Sae was being about this. She had expected anger, frustration, maybe an uncharacteristic outburst. Yet when Sae smiled and told her that they should go on a trip together after the case was done...

"Um...I-I'm on your side! I won't let anyone do anything to you!"

It slipped out, she told herself. For the first time in a long time, her insecurities snuck up and managed to jump out from the mental cage she stuffed them in. It just had to happen at this moment too. Makoto hadn't realized what she said until it had left her mouth, at which point panic set in. Someone like Sae could figure out that her outburst sounded suspicious, almost as if Makoto knew what was going to happen to her sister. Given her previous comments about possibly siding with the Phantom Thieves, she knew that this could paint her in a negative and possibly revealing light. Makoto could no longer grin and bear the weight of what was about to happen; the fact that her opponent was the only family that she had left, the plan they had concocted was nowhere near foolproof and that their leader might not be coming back from this mission.

Leader...

That outburst broke the dam of emotions she had managed to hold back and she started to cry. All she could think about was this might be the last time she sees either Akira, Sae or both. She wanted to change her sister's heart, but a small part of her deep down was hoping that Sae's heart would change on its own, even though the previous 3 palaces have suggested otherwise. As well, over the course of the last few months, she found friends in the Phantom Thieves that she never expected to have in her life to begin with. Both her sister and her friends were the most important people in her life and now she felt like she had to choose either one of them or none. She didn't want to lose her friends. She didn't want to lose her sister.

She didn't want to lose Akira...

Makoto's inner meltdown was interrupted by a light pressure on her head. She looked up to see Sae patting her head, as if she was a child again. She looked up to see her sister smiling for the first time in a while. Not a determined smile, not the smile her sister used when she won a case, but a genuine, familial smile. Makoto wasn't even sure if Sae COULD smile like that anymore.

"What an odd girl", Sae said. Makoto was completely stunned by this. Her sister had reverted back to the Sae she had grown up with. Maybe there was hope after all. The moment ended, however, once Sae brought out her cell phone. Assuming she needed to make a phone call, Makoto excused herself and headed up to her room. Once in, she shut the door and collapsed against it, finally allowing the rest of her emotions to come out. It took all of Makoto's remaining mental fortitude to not start sobbing uncontrollably, instead, she merely whimpered quietly while the tears flowed out of her.

Truth be told, she hated everything about this plan and hated Akechi even more for forcing them to come to this. While she's glad that they were able to find out about Akechi's betrayal before it actually happened, it still didn't relax her feelings about this plan; fighting her sister's shadow, pretending to steal her treasure, have Joker get captured by the cops that are a part of Akechi's plan and have him convince Sae to join their side, all so Akechi doesn't kill their leader. There was literally no way they could be one-hundred percent prepared for this, as the crux of the plan was Akira convincing Sae that they had been set up. Being that her father was a cop, Makoto had heard some stories about some of the interrogation practices and the word "unpleasant" wouldn't do them justice. She was hoping that they were just rumors and that her leader would return to her in one piece.

Her leader...

Makoto caught herself on that thought and stopped crying for a minute. She got up and sat on the end of her bed, before getting caught up in her thoughts again. There was one other thought that she didn't want to betray to her sister tonight.

The fact that the man she was going to interrogate was not only their leader, but her boyfriend as well.

Never in a million years did she think that she'd not only be a member of the, now criminalized, Phantom Thieves, but that the leader of the group would steal her heart as well. Thinking back, they had always gotten along well. Out of all the members of her group, she always had found herself the most comfortable around him. His intelligence was pretty high for hanging around Ryuji as much as he did, plus he could formulate infiltration strategies on the level of the best military geniuses. He was also, it seemed, always confident, well prepared and willing to face danger head on, with a plan that, nine times out of ten, worked perfectly. She sometimes wondered why she was even needed in the group, though she knows that if she were to voice that concern, Akira would shoot it down instantly, reminding her about her aptitude for planning and battle coordination as well that perfectly filled the holes in his own strategies. He has mentioned a couple of times that he would be somewhat lost without her. It seemed, to her at least, that discounting Morgana, he met with her the most out of all the Phantom Thieves. Plus, she honestly found Akira a charming individual to be around. When not a Phantom Thief, he was kind, funny, gentlemanly with an acerbic wit and, when she wanted to indulge herself, very physically attractive. Somehow, he was the kind of guy you'd want to pour your heart out to, knowing that he'd listen. Makoto knew this fact well, both from their discussions about Eiko as well as what happened after the school festival a few weeks ago, where that feeling came back to bite her in the ass. Mentioning marriage to a guy you aren't even dating, regardless of how close you are to them, is a no-no even someone as socially stilted as her knows. Still, she mused to herself, maybe it was fate that she let that slip. The very next day, they decided to confront Eiko about her awful host-boyfriend. Akira, in a typical gentlemanly display, protected her from Tsukasa, even though she didn't need it. The gesture, however, still meant a great deal to her. While hiding in a bar from the crowd, she accidentally hinted at her own feelings and he took the bait. His confession was both smooth and awkward at the same time. What kind of guy says he would like to date you by using the phrase "I'll be your study partner"? Akira Kurusu, that's who. Not like she'd say no. They had been dating for a little less than a month at that point, but it felt like more. Makoto hoped, even though this was a little childish she told herself, that it would never end. She truly loved Akira and wanted this relationship to continue.

Which is the biggest reason why she hates this plan so much. The fact that she herself had devised it wasn't helping either.

Once Makoto had managed to calm herself down, she took out her cell phone and messaged the group that she had delivered the card.

"Sorry for the wait. I think it went well" she typed before sending it to them.

She only half-paid attention to the conversation that followed, feeling pretty drained after the whole affair. She only typed a reply to remind the others that she was still there. Besides, even though she said it went well, they all knew that it wasn't that simple, that all of this made Makoto cycle through a series of complex emotions, as any of them would were they in her shoes. Once the conversation ended, she put the phone down on her nightstand and took out a pair of pajamas for bed.

"Stand by!?"

Her sister's voice caught her attention. Was she referring to what Makoto thought she was referring to?

"And you've transferred command of the investigation to someone else!?"

Yep.

"No of course not... Yes...I understand..."

Just like that, Makoto's thoughts were rushing at a mile a minute again. If Sae wasn't the person to interrogate Akira, the whole plan falls through. Whoever they get to replace Sae will just falsify whatever testimony they want and incriminate the Phantom Thieves. Worse yet, without Sae, no one is going to stop Akechi from assassinating their leader. Makoto's thoughts were interrupted by Sae once again.

"I'll remain on standby until further instruction...Please excuse me".

Standby...so there's a possibility that she'll still be interrogating Akira. Knowing Sae as she does, she'll probably fight tooth and nail for the chance to interrogate the leader of the most wanted group in the country. She's been vying for this chance for so long and now that it was in her grasp, she wasn't going to let it go so easily. But still...

Makoto didn't like leaving things to chance.

She couldn't take this anymore. She needed to calm down. So she did the only thing she could think of and took out her phone.

"Hey. I'm sorry for bothering you this late."

"You're not bothering me. What's up?" came the reply. Akira had responded in almost record time.

"I'm not doing so well right now. After delivering the calling card to my sis, I'm kind of a wreck. She's going to the courthouse tonight"

Makoto hesitated before typing this.

"Do you think I could come over, just for a little bit?"

She honestly didn't know what to expect. She was hoping for a yes, but the realistic part of her told her that he'd want to rest to prepare for tomorrow.

"Sure. I'll meet you by the train station"

The minute she felt her phone vibrate, she opened it and saw his reply. Almost instantly, she felt a wave of calm wash over her.

"Thank You. I'll leave once sis is gone, which should be in a few minutes"

Once Makoto heard the door open and close, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

The train ride from her house to Leblanc wasn't too long, which made Makoto feel a little better. Given that it was past rush hour, the train wasn't too crowded; Makoto actually managed to find a seat right when she got on. She tried to keep her thoughts clear, not wanting to convey her own nervousness about Akira's predicament. She had hoped that he only surmised her own nervousness as far as regarding Sae, but she also knew that he was way too sharp to leave it there. Still, she didn't want him worrying about her while he's going through his own ordeal.

Makoto decided to focus on past, happy memories to keep her head busy. She thought of the first time she truly hung out with her companions in the Phantom Thieves and how happy she felt after Akira had confessed his feelings and they became a couple. She thought of the last time she went on a trip with Sae; she had just won a case and decided to take some vacation time, so they did a couple day trips: the beach, Harajuku, Destinyland. She even got a picture of Sae, her normally serious, stone-faced sister, lighting up as she put on a Maxie Mole hat. She knew that her sister secretly loved cutesy stuff and was glad she got concrete evidence of it. She thought of the last time her and her sister went to Mt. Fuji. The last time they went was with their father.

This geared Makoto's mind back into a question she had been wondering for a long time: what would her father think of her actions?

Masahiro Niijima was, well, exactly what most people think of when they think of a policeman father. He was tough, strict but fair, usually smoking a cigarette, sometimes pulled late nights leaving Makoto and Sae to their own devices. He was also caring, loving and, she thought, the best father ever. As she got older, she started to see herself more and more aligning with her father's point of view. Which is where this question came from: if her father knew about the Phantom Thieves, would he support their actions? She knew that he had a strong sense of justice; you could never really tell how he felt about a case unless you talked to him, as there was always some angle the media missed that he picked up on. He always wanted to fight for the weak, even teaching Makoto how to stand up for herself. Isn't that what the Phantom Thieves are doing?

"Yongen-jaya. This is Yongen-jaya".

The train announcement had interrupted Makoto's thoughts. Maybe it was her nerves about the situation, but she found herself getting lost in her own head a lot lately. She shook off the new thought as she walked out the train door once it opened. As she stood on the platform, she looked around for Akira. He said he would meet her here and it's not that far a walk from Leblanc to the train station. She saw him just as he started walking over towards her and she found herself doing the same. Just then, Makoto's thoughts changed from what would her father think of the Phantom Thieves to what would her father think of Akira Kurusu, her boyfriend.

"Hey there" he said.

"Hey. Thanks so much for meeting me here" she replied back.

"No worries. I know this was mostly your plan so it makes sense that your stressing out about it a bit" he said.

"Yeah. This whole night has thrown me for a loop." she replied as they started walking back to Leblanc.

"Can't say I blame you. Sae took the calling card well?" he inquired.

"Almost as if she was expecting it." she replied. "She tore it up though afterwards. But she didn't seem to be too surprised by it".

"I guess that's to be expected." he replied. There was a silence hanging in the air as they made their way up the stairs to the back streets of Yongen. Makoto thought this weird; Akira Kurusu was never one to let a silence hang in the air like that.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, showing some almost uncharacteristic worry and concern.

"I've been better" she replied. "This whole situation has thrown my thoughts into overdrive. Truth be told" Makoto started hesitating her words, unsure of whether or not to tell Akira this. "I actually had an outburst after sis read the card."

"Oh?" said Akira.

"After she read the card, she smiled and said that once this is over, she wants to take a trip with me. That's something we haven't done in a while and, well, I guess it reminded me of when things were different." Makoto finished.

"What did you say?" said Akira.

"I'm on your side, I won't let anybody hurt you". Makoto looked down at her feet after saying that. Now that some time had passed since then, she realized how childish that statement sounded. Crying after that only made it worse in her opinion.

"Oh, well that's no big deal. I mean, palace or not, this is your sister we're talking about. I can't blame you for that." said Akira, once again taking Makoto's expectations and throwing them in the garbage. He really was good at that. She expected him to be a little concerned, maybe even laugh at her, but for him to basically say "that's okay" was not something Makoto was ready for.

"Besides" he continued. "Your eyes are pretty red, so I'm guessing whatever happened was pretty upsetting for you."

Makoto didn't even look at herself in the mirror before she left. Briefly freaking out, she took out her cell phone and used the front camera as a mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying she had done and there were dried up tear streams on her face. Makoto was so shocked by her own appearance that another tear had accidentally started making it's way down her face.

"Ah. I-I-I'm sssorryy." Makoto stuttered out as she hid her face in her hands. "Ididn'tlookatmyselfbeforeIcamehereIjustleftI'msorryI'msuchawreck" she blurted out in once sentence; a bad habit of her's when she got upset.

Akira just laughed softly, gently grabbed her chin and wiped the tear away. Makoto found herself staring into those dark-colored eyes of his while he did so. His eyes which clearly held so much caring at this moment.

She thought her legs were gonna buckle. Under his gaze, she felt like melting.

"It's fine. I'm honestly surprised you managed to hold it together as you have until now. This is all really stressful on all of us." Akira replied, letting go of Makoto's chin. He loved leaving her dazed like that. They resumed walking.

"Still, I'm glad you contacted me when you did. I was trying to make infiltration tools for the mission and I, um, had a hard time focusing" he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. It surprised her to hear the normally calm, cool and collected Akira Kurusu turn inward nervously. "I'm nervous about this plan too. It really does all rely on my abilities to convince Sae. Plus, I have no idea what the police are going to do to me before she gets there. If she ever gets there." he said, darkly. Makoto remembered that he has experience with the police, having been wrongly arrested beforehand. However, Akira knew that was nothing compared to what he was about to be thrown into. "I was going to contact you myself, actually, wondering if you'd want to meet up somewhere in the middle. But, now that were here, Leblanc works just fine?" he asked.

Makoto couldn't believe her ears. Even though they had been dating for only about a month, she thought that she knew Akira pretty well by this point, what with them being friends for some time beforehand. All humans get nervous, but she thought that Akira generally handled any of his own anxieties well. Hearing him, however, express some of the same nervousness that she herself was experiencing was a complete shock. Still, it actually made her smile a bit knowing that she was a shoulder for Akira to lean on just as he was for her. He had managed to get her to take off her mask and confide her own worries, problems and anxieties to him but she felt like she could never do the same for him. She sometimes wondered if he felt like he could never talk to her about those things. Now, however, she was going to be the shoulder for Akira that he was to her.

Akira looked at her as she smiled, clearly feeling better. "She's got such a cute smile." he thought to himself. His thoughts then turned darker for a moment. "No matter what, I have to come back. For my teams' sake and for her's".

Both of them made the rest of the walk in a comfortable silence. As they turned onto the street that Leblanc is on, Akira felt something in his hand. Surprised, he looked down to find that Makoto had grabbed it. He looked at her and saw that she was looking away, trying to contain a blush. "Huh. Didn't think Makoto was the blushing shy type." Akira thought, as his thoughts started to fill with different ways to bring this side of Makoto out in public for his own amusement. He wouldn't tell any of that to her, however. He suppressed his mischievous 'Joker' smile as they reached the door to Leblanc.

"Want some coffee? I'm going to brew myself a cup so it's no trouble for me if you want" he asked.

"Sure. I'd love some." she replied, as Akira unlocked the door and they went into Leblanc.

As the aroma of coffee filled the air, Makoto made a mental note to ask either Akira or Sojiro about how the coffee is made. It was some damn good coffee and Sojiro had clearly taught Akira well on how to be a barista. Leblanc's coffee was so good that she never wanted to go back to that weird American coffee chain that she saw in Shibuya. Wearing the apron of the trade, Akira poured the now-brewed coffee in a cup that he had slid in front of Makoto. The smell of fresh coffee enticing her, Makoto grabbed the cup and held it to her lips. Savoring the flavor as it entered her nose, she blew across the cup to cool it down a bit before putting the cup to her lips and taking a sip. The flavor was complex; not too sweet but not too bitter. The texture was perfect; rich but still light enough that you wouldn't get sick from drinking it all. Makoto was really impressed.

"Wow. Seems all the lessons Boss gave you have been paying off." Makoto said.

Akira accepted the complement and poured himself a cup. "Well truth be told, this is a new blend I've been trying out. Though don't tell Sojiro, I snuck one of the expensive beans into this blend." he replied, grinning slightly mischievously.

"Well the blend certainly works. This is the best coffee I had in a long time." she said.

"Ah, stop it." Akira deflected, before taking a sip of his own. "I take that back, I think I nailed this one".

"Haha, well, now someone's conceited, huh?" joked Makoto.

"Well, we pride ourselves on our service" he replied back smiling. A smile that Makoto found contagious as she mirrored it back to him.

They then start a conversation on coffee and their friends. Just being together was always something they found enjoyable. Both of them felt like they could hold a conversation with the other no problem. Besides, it's not like they'd run out of interesting topics, given how unlikely the whole situation they find themselves in: supernatural thieves who save the world one distorted desire at a time, meeting up in a coffee shop that the leader lives in with his magical talking cat that says he isn't a cat. When Akira first came to Leblanc, he never would have thought that this would be where his life would lead. Not that he's really complaining. He knows how lucky he is, not just to be in the position that he's in, but to also have the friends that he does. Especially the one sitting in front of him right now. He wasn't exactly sure when, but he realized that Makoto wasn't just any ordinary girl. She was a girl who was determined to make the world a better place. Once she dropped her whole honor student act and they got to hang out, he realized how strong her sense of justice and her determination to make things right were. He found himself talking to her more and more not just about Phantom Thieves matters, but also on random pleasantries, secrets, shared experiences, even convincing her to help him study for upcoming exams. He would have never thought that the "boring, uptight miss student council president" who, in the beginning, was thwarting their early thief meetings, would ever be this awesome to be around. Soon, he found himself inviting her places without really a task in mind; walking around Akihabara, buying books in Jinbocho, etc. All just because he wanted to hang out with her. He wonders if anyone noticed his feelings for Makoto; he thought he wasn't exactly subtle about it. When they were at the beach, he did manage to sneak a few glances at her body in that bathing suit and, well, the two words he'd use to describe it would be "GOOD GOD". Saying that she had the body of a worshipped high priestess would be an understatement. At some point after that double date with Eiko and Tsukasa, Akira realized that he should probably stop leaving all his feelings in his head and ask her out, but wasn't sure how, until right after the situation with that host when he saw his opportunity and, successfully, reached out for it. Now, here they were, dating for about one month. Akira hoped, even though he realized how immature a thought this was, that it would never end. He truly loved Makoto and wanted this relationship to continue.

His internal monologue was interrupted by Makoto excusing herself to go to the bathroom. Akira took this opportunity to start washing their cups, both having been long empty of the finished brew of coffee for a while now. He checked his phone and noticed that he had been talking to Makoto for about an hour and a half now without either of them bringing up tomorrow. He didn't realized how relaxed he felt until the next day entered his thought. Suddenly, his nerves returned. He tried to calm himself down and focus on the task at hand: in this case washing dishes. Akira was usually pretty good about suppressing any anxieties he felt, but the stakes were too high tomorrow for him to remain calm about it. So he focused on washing the dishes and breathing, trying to steady his nerves. In, out. Slowly in and out.

Akira heard the door close and Makoto walked out and sat back at the counter, Akira noticing a concerned look on her face. Turning off the water and drying his hands, he approached the counter.  
"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just..."she replied, finding herself hesitant once again. "I guess I didn't notice how much time had gone by." Akira looked at the clock again. It was 10:45. He picked up Makoto from the train station around 8:30 so they've been hanging around each other for about two hours and fifteen minutes now. Neither looked like they wanted the night to end here either. But both of them knew the last train ran at 11:10 so if Makoto wanted to catch it, she'd have to leave now. Before either of them could say something...

"Stay the night here" Akira blurted out before realizing what he said.

"Huh?" said Makoto once she realized what Akira said. A blush immediately started creeping up on her cheeks. She knew that they would have to cross this bridge at some point in their relationship and she wanted to, but she didn't think it'd be tonight of all nights. Plus, she wasn't prepared at all.

"I don't have a change of clothes." she said. She was still in her school uniform.

"That's okay. I have some extra clothes you can use as pajamas and we can wash the clothes your currently wearing in a laundromat across the street. They stay open super late so we wouldn't have to rush or anything. Besides, I have laundry to do myself so it's not like I'll be going out of my way." he replied.

"What about toiletries?" she asked.

"I have a new toothbrush and stick of deodorant that I haven't opened yet that you can use." he replied. Makoto was beginning to think that he planned this with how perfect his answers were.

"What about Morgana?" she asked, remembering that she hadn't seen their feline-though supposedly human- companion the entire time she was here.

"He saw your earlier message so I asked him if it was okay if he gave you some space. He said he'd be wandering around Yongen." Akira replied.

Yep. He planned this.

Makoto considered her options at this point. While she should go back to her house, her sister wouldn't be home anyway, so Makoto locked up when she left. Plus, Akira made a convincing case for staying the night.

Not just with his reasoning though.

Makoto got an idea and smiled. She got up and locked the door to Leblanc.

With her hand still on the lock, she turned around to Akira Kurusu, giving him a mischievous look that some would recognize as being borrowed from his own visage. Akira, for his part, was doing his best to hold it together. He knew that Makoto could be rash, but judging from her pose, her face and the fact that she just had locked the door to Leblanc, this was new for her. He knew what she was implying and hoped that he didn't give off the vibe that, well, THAT would be happening tonight. Not that he didn't want it to eventually happen, but he knew that she wasn't ready for it and he didn't want her to think he was forcing her. Still, it seemed that Makoto picked up on his unease and now, in a move befitting her boyfriend, proceeded to make it worse. She unbuttoned her coat one button at a time, slowly, making sure Akira was watching every single movement. When the buttons were gone, she took off the coat and threw it onto an empty booth seat. She watched his eyes follow the coat, wide like saucers, before slowly sauntering towards the counter. Her first step reverted Akira's attention from the coat back to her. He was getting increasingly nervous, not being used to being put in a corner as opposed to the one putting her in a corner. Makoto elegantly sat down on a barstool, crossed her legs, placed her chin on her hands and looked straight into Akira's dark eyes.

"So let me get this straight. We're alone, the two of us, in Leblanc and you're telling me you want me to stay the night, huh, Akira?" Makoto cooed, knowing that saying that was the cherry on top of the whole act.

Akira knew he was in her grasp and couldn't get out. He also knew that he didn't want to. She was like a snake; an amazing, smart, drop dead gorgeous snake and Akira was prey.

Makoto decided then to go out even bigger. She reached for that fluffy head of his and pulled him across the counter into a rough kiss. Makoto's eyes were somewhat closed but she could still see that Akira's eyes were so wide they threatened to engulf the rest of his head. Before he could respond, she broke the kiss and lightly pushed him away with her finger. Akira, dazed, stumbled backwards and landed by the shelves with the coffee beans. Makoto, at this point, couldn't contain herself anymore and started laughing uncontrollably. This broke Akira from the spell she had put him under.

"I can't believe that worked. You should've seen your face. I've never seen you so flustered, you were redder then Panther's suit." Makoto said in between laughs.

Akira, realizing that he had to get her back somehow, hopped over the counter and landed on his feet right in front of her. Makoto, now surprised, slowly stopped laughing and looked into his face, now contorted into the ever familiar Joker grin. She suddenly grew nervous as she knew that Akira was planning something. Her thoughts came to a halt, however, when Akira simply hugged her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Well done. That really made me feel better. You should give Ann some acting lessons. It could come in handy." he said, matter of factly.

Akira broke the hug, went back behind the counter and resumed washing dishes. Makoto, for her part, was stunned. She thought that Akira would've gotten back at her in some grandiose and slightly bizarre way, as his past oeuvre would indicate. The thought then hit her, though, that being sincere and subtle in response to that performance would stun her farther than any large gesture would.

"You asshole." Makoto replied.

Akira just responded with a traditional Joker grin. Makoto took this opportunity to throw away any remaining formalities between them and just go for it. She went behind the counter and hugged Akira from behind.

"Listen, Akira." Makoto said, catching his attention. "You better come back. For all of us. For the team, for Boss..." she hesitated.

"For me. Cause I'm not ready to lose you yet. Not as a teammate, friend or as my boyfriend. So please, just come back to me."

Makoto felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Odd, she thought, as that was such a simple thing to say. The weight, however, was replaced by a cyclone of butterflies in her stomach as her thoughts about what might happen tomorrow came rushing back to her.

She felt Akira reach up and dry his hands. He broke the hug, turned around, then reinstated it by hugging her close to him. She immediately reciprocated and buried her head in his chest.

"I'm not going anywhere" he said. It was just 4 words, yet they conveyed everything she wanted to hear that moment.

Makoto looked into his eyes once again, this time with her eyes threatening to betray tears. She immediately closed the distance between the two, not rough like the last time, but gentle and soft. The kiss between them was something they both needed right now, a reassurance that everything would be okay tomorrow, even if they had no way of knowing it. They both wanted the same thing; to be closer to the other. Makoto took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and Akira reciprocated. They continued kissing each other for some time, both of them not caring how long they were standing there, both simply wanting to be in each other's arms. Makoto broke the kiss to regain some air and stared into her lover's onyx eyes with her crimson ones. They needed this right now, they needed each other right now.

"Mewhehehehehe"

They needed Morgana to not be standing there staring at them right now.

Akira let out a sigh and said "How long were you sta-"

Before he could finish, Morgana replied "I just walked in. Lo and behold, I see two of the Phantom Thieves getting it on in the kitchen of Leblanc. Wonder what chief would say if he walked in on this..." Morgana said, his tail swaying mischievously behind him. "Wonder how much sushi I would need to not say anything to the others?" he said. Makoto glared at him. The two of them had worked so hard at keeping their new relationship a secret from the others. Not that they didn't want to tell them, but now wasn't the time. All of that hard work, however, was spoiled by one make-out session that the talking cat walked in on.

"You wouldn't!" Makoto replied.

Morgana jumped down from the countertop he was perched on and landed in front of them.

"Well, if it was Ryuji, no, I would. But I like you guys and, quite frankly, I had a feeling this was going on behind the scenes. Honestly, it makes me happy to see that you two found each other." Morgana replied sincerely, something that both of them were unaccustomed to.

"Just don't get it on when I'm sleeping in the same bed as you guys" Morgana replied, throwing both of them for a loop. Now Makoto was as red as Panther's suit.

"That's no problem, you'll just sleep outside tonight." Makoto threatened, slightly hollowly.

Morgana then jumped upstairs and was gone. It was at this point that both of them noticed a cool breeze around them and turned to find that the door was slightly open.

"Guess he picked the lock." Akira said. The open door reminded him. "If it's okay with you, would you mind changing into pajamas? I'll go wash your clothes while you do that."

"Okay" Makoto replied, sadly tearing herself away from Akira's embrace.

Makoto found the clothes that Akira was talking about laid out on his bed. When she sat down on the bed, she felt her phone vibrate. Opening it, she found Yusuke had messaged the secret phantom thieves chat. The one without a certain pancake loving traitor.

"Tomorrow's the day, then" said Yusuke.

"Yes. Everyone should be prepared to the best of their ability. This might be our last mission so we should make sure it goes well." replied Haru

"Yeah..." said Ryuji.

Makoto was typing out a reply but Futaba beat her to it.

"Wow. Skull's at a loss for words. This is a rare occasion. I should screenshot this for future reference." said Futaba.

"That ain't it!" replied Ryuji, taking her bait.

"To be honest, I think I'm feeling the same as Ryuji" replied Ann

Makoto decided to chime in. "You too, huh?"

"Well Mako-chan, you have it worse than all of us." replied Haru.

"True. This is your sister we're talking about" said Yusuke.

Makoto was silent for a bit. She hoped that she didn't convey her feelings too much to them, however, before she could think of anything else, Ann replied.

"Listen, if you need someone to talk to about it, either before or after the mission tomorrow, I'm here." replied Ann.

"As am I" said Yusuke.

"Ditto" replied Ryuji.

"We can even go get crepes if you want!" said Ann.

"I think it's safe to say that we're all here for you if you need it. It's like the saying in that book: one for all and all for one." replied Haru.

Makoto found herself tearing up at this point. She felt truly lucky and grateful to have these people as both her comrades and her friends. She thought about how far they've come since the time when she was being a nuisance to them, investigating them under the principal's orders.

"Thank you all. I don't think I say it enough, but I'm really grateful to have you all as friends. Ann, I think I might take you up on that crepes offer at some point. It's been a while since we had a girls-only day" Makoto typed back.

"I WANNA COME I WANNA COME!" replied Futaba.

"They said girls, not gremlins" replied Yusuke. It seems they've all taken a page out of Joker's sass book at some point.

"You're just jealous because no weirdos allowed" replied Futaba.

"Who're you calling a weirdo?" replied Yusuke.

Makoto didn't really get how those two got into this weird dynamic of theirs, but it wasn't like they really hated each other. Besides, it was entertaining sometimes, as bad as it was to think that.

"Oh, btw" said Ryuji, cutting off the brewing brawl between Yusuke and Futaba.

There was a long pause, before Ryuji said the thing that was on everybody's mind.

"Akira, you better come back from this. I'll let loose on anyone who does anything to you!" said Ryuji.

The words were Ryuji's but the sentiment was all of theirs. It wasn't just Makoto that was worried about tomorrow, it was everyone.

"I agree with Ryuji for once" said Yusuke.

"For once?!" replyed Ryuji

Immediately after, a picture message started loading. It was Akira with a pair of his underwear draped over his head as some sort of mask. He was looking at the camera making the V for victory sign with his fingers.

"A true masked hero never lets down his friends!" was the caption attached to it.

Makoto sometimes wondered how their whole group managed to get anything done.

"Wow Akira, your new mask is interesting. Very, um, supportive" replied Haru, trying her hand at sarcasm. She was getting there.

"Yes, it's very aesthetically pleasing. The white acts as a great contrast to the black that normally make's up Akira's outfit." replied Yusuke, the sarcasm having obviously flown right over his head. Makoto would have to ask later how wearing underwear on your head was "aesthetically pleasing". Scratch that, something was telling her she'd regret the answer.

"But I can't help but wonder how you'll summon personas with it" replied Yusuke.

"Let's just go to bed before this continues" replied Ann.

Makoto decided that was a good point to leave the group chat for now. Just in time, too, Akira walked in at that very moment.

"You decent?" he asked from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, don't worry. I'm decent, unlike you." replied Makoto.

"What? You didn't grow up with that book series? Lieutenant Boxer Briefs?" said Akira as he ascended the stairs to his room.  
"Do you want to get smacked?" replied Makoto.

Akira, rather wisely, took this as the opportunity to change the subject.

"I placed your toiletries by the side wall in the bathroom. They're still unopened so you'll be able to tell them apart from mine." he said.

"Okay. Thanks." replied Makoto.

Akira went downstairs to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Makoto sat back on the bed before realizing that they never talked about sleeping arrangements. As Makoto started to look around the room and figure out who would be sleeping where, once her eyes reached the bed the obvious thought hit her.

Akira's room, well, attic had two possible locations for sleeping. One was the bed, obviously, and one was a couch sitting against the wall. Makoto figured that she would be sleeping there and that Akira would be sleeping in his bed. With it being November, the attic would get too cold without a blanket of some sort, so Makoto started looking for one. Having no such luck, it was then she noticed Morgana walk back into the room.

"Hey. Does Akira have an extra set of blankets somewhere?" she asked.

"Hmm. What for?" replied Morgana.

"I'm going to be sleeping on the couch, so I'd rather not freeze to death. This is an attic in November after all." Makoto replied.

"Well, knowing Joker, he'd probably just give you the blanket on his bed and sleep without one. I don't really know if Boss keeps any extra blankets around here." replied Morgana, as he jumped up to the work desk.

Makoto sighed. This was not helping her find any other choice than sleeping in Akira's bed.

"If I may ask, how long have you two been dating?" the cat asked. Makoto took a second to think about it.

"A little less than a month now, I'd say" she replied.

"Why don't you just sleep in the same bed as him? Body heat works way better than any blanket, I find." replied Morgana.

Makoto immediately blushed, a fact that the prying cat picked up on.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he wouldn't try anything without your consent. Akira's not that type of guy. Besides, he's got his mind on the mission tomorrow." replied Morgana.

Makoto inwardly agreed, but something was bothering her. Regardless of Morgana's assurances, there still was something about being in the same bed with her boyfriend that conjured, well, impure thoughts. Hanging over those thoughts was the possibility that Akira wouldn't come back from this. She wanted her first time to be special and she had given some thought that Akira would be her first. Would she be willing, however, to have tonight be that special moment? Under the stress of the mission tomorrow, it would be a bittersweet moment, as possibly the only time they make love together. But, was she ready? If tomorrow's mission wasn't a big deal, this train of thought wouldn't even have entered her mind. However...

Her thought process was interrupted by Akira entering the bedroom in his pajamas, a black shirt and some off-green colored pants.

"Bathroom's open." said Akira.

"Okay, thanks. I'll use it now, then." replied Makoto, grabbing the spare clothes and walking down to the bathroom.

Akira turned around to see Morgana smiling ear to ear at him.

"What're you so happy about?" he asked the cat.

"Well, now that you're dating Makoto, I have less competition to win over Lady Ann!" replied the cat.

Akira sighed. Morgana jumped up to the window and opened it.

"I'm assuming you two are gonna want some space. I'll be back a little later. Just make sure to get some sleep for tomorrow." he said, before leaping out into the trees below to explore Yongen once again.

Akira closed his window once Morgana left. He didn't want too much of the cold air to come in, after all. He then proceeded to stare at the bed, briefly lost in thought. "I don't think Sojiro has any extra blankets around here...it's too cold for either of us to sleep without one." he thought to himself. That left only one possibility in his mind.

Makoto came up the stairs to find Akira staring at his bed. Obviously lost in thought, she went up behind him and gently poked his arm so as not to scare him too much. Luckily, he didn't even jump at all. Akira turned to see Makoto in his spare clothes; a short sleeve black and white t-shirt and black workout shorts. The neck of the shirt was big enough that it reached one of her shoulders and she was holding up the shorts with her hands. Akira laughed at the sight. She looked cute, he thought.

"Here, let me get you a belt so my pants don't fall down" he said, reaching for one by his box of stuff from his parents' place.

Makoto wrapped the belt around her just tight enough for the pants not to fall down. She decided that now was as good of a time as any to ask.

"So, where are we sleeping tonight?"

"Well, I figured I can take the couch and you can take the bed." Akira matter-of-factly replied.

"That won't work. You'll go into the mission with a cold and, with what you're going to be doing, being sick would make it impossible." Makoto replied.

"Nah it won't be a big deal, I'm sure Sojiro has some extra blankets around here somewher-

"Akira, if I'm going to be sleeping in your bed tonight, I want you there with me." Makoto said, going straight for it. Her face was as red as a tomato.

Akira was dumbstruck for a moment. Makoto Niijima, Miss Student Council President, just said that. Well, he supposed it wasn't totally out of character given that they were dating and all of that.

"I know we've only started dating recently, but I'm really scared that you're not going to come back. That I'll have just thrown you into the lion's mouth so that we can escape. That not only will I lose my boyfriend, but my sister as well." Makoto said. Akira could clearly see the fear in her eyes. She did everything she could to hold back tears.

"I don't know why I'm having so much trouble controlling my emotions today..." her strength was failing.

Akira took that as his cue to wrap his arms around her.

"Okay. And I'm not going anywhere." He said.

"How can you be so sure?!" Makoto shouted back at him, before starting to cry once again.

Akira pulled her even closer, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Inside, she was chastising herself. This is, what, the third time today that she's cried? She thought she was tougher than this. She couldn't hold back anymore and started to sob. Her cries got louder and louder. Akira let her let it all out, not saying anything, just rubbing circles on her back. Eventually, Makoto lifted her arms up around him, pulling him even closer to her. They stood like that for a long time, until Makoto's cries eventually died down.

"I apologize for that." Makoto said in between heaves of air. Akira could still feel her shaking.

"You know you have nothing to apologize for." he replied. Makoto started to pull away.

"When you said that you weren't going anywhere, it reminded me of what my father would tell me after mom died. I guess that broke whatever strength I had left." she said.

"Ah. I'm sorry." he replied.

"No, you're the one who actually has nothing to apologize for. If anything, I'm the one who should apologize." Makoto said.

"I told you though, you-"

"I know." Makoto said. She lifted her head up to look at him, staring at his onyx orbs for a bit, before nuzzling her head in the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around him once more. Akira followed suit. Neither of them said anything for a while, just enjoying the moment. They were using each other, both as physical and emotional support. Akira was just as nervous as Makoto was. Given the possibility of death at the end of this mission, who wouldn't be? But, Akira thought, he had more pressing concerns right now. She was holding him together more than she realized and now it was his turn to be a pillar of support for her. They both wished this moment could've lasted forever. Akira was the first to break it.

"Come, you must be tired. We should go to bed." he said, channelling a certain furry roommate of his.

Makoto nodded against him. "Yes, I am quite tired and we should be ready for tomorrow".

Makoto started walking towards the bed, only to feel Akira pull her back. Before she could inquire as to why he was not letting go of her, he lifted her into a bridal hold, taking her by surprise. He walked towards the bed and gently placed her on it. Makoto, shocked by all of this, was a mess.

"A-a-a-a-a-a-ak-a-aki-a" she stuttered out, trying to say his name. He just shot her back one of his Joker grins.

"Now we're even." he said, reminding her of what she did earlier in Leblanc.

"You asshole." she replied back, before grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him into the bed with her.

They both laughed as Akira landed right above her on the bed. For a moment, they felt a strange peace. It was almost as if tomorrow's do or die mission wasn't even going to happen, almost as if they were just a normal couple doing normal couple things. Makoto hoped that, one day, that would be the case. She would never admit it, but there were times when she thought about her future together with Akira. Both of them with jobs, starting a family, owning a house, maybe a pet or two. She thought it was both useless and kind of creepy to think about these things since they're both just in high school, but since she never told anyone, she let herself indulge in these fantasies.

Akira's face was inches away from Makoto's, and Makoto took the opportunity to close the distance between them. As her lips pressed against Akira's, only one thought entered her head. "This feel's right." she thought to herself. Akira deepened the kiss and Makoto obliged, pulling him closer to her. Both of their fears, their anxieties, their worries about tomorrow, dissipated in the wake of their kiss. It was as if a magical orb surrounded them, protecting them from all of the negativity that tomorrow would bring. They both felt secure in each others arms. All they felt was calm. All they needed was each other.

Akira broke the kiss, needing air.

"I love you." he said, before realizing it. Akira's eyes went wide like saucers and Makoto's matched his. They hadn't said that to each other yet. Well, said it and meant it with all the implications that came with it, that time at the school festival notwithstanding. Makoto, feeling time move once again, starting tearing up.

"I love you too. So much." she said, before pulling him back into another kiss. They immediately resumed where they were, both deepening the kiss, needing the warmth and comfort of the other. As their tongues danced across one another, Makoto did her best to stifle any tears that would come out. They were both worried but extremely happy. Worried that he wouldn't come back but happy that their relationship progressed to this point, happy to just be in eachother's arms. It slipped out of Akira's mouth in the daze from their kiss but he meant every word. Makoto made him so happy that he never wanted to leave her. In truth, sometimes he wondered if his resolve regarding tomorrow's mission was more directed at coming back to her than to the Phantom Thieves.

Makoto, for her part, felt ecstatic. With Akira's arms around her, she felt truly safe, felt truly comfortable for the first time in a while. He was intoxicating to her. She never thought she'd date someone that could be classified as a "bad boy" but, then again, her persona was a motorcycle and she herself was referred to as "post-apocalyptic raider", much to her chagrin. Regardless, to her, Akira was quickly becoming all that she concerned herself with. Maybe it was the newness of the relationship briefly taking over her mind, but she felt that she could do anything as long as he was there with her. It was like they each filled in the holes the other had, both in Phantom Thieves work as well as in real life.

Makoto broke the kiss this time, needing air. "Akira" she moaned accidentally. During their kiss, something had stirred beneath both of them. Makoto could feel herself tightening as well as Akira. They stared into each other's eyes, onyx meeting crimson. "D-d-do you?" Akira knew what she was trying to ask. He smiled at her, not his Joker smile but a genuine smile.

"I do. One day though. I can sense that you aren't ready. Besides, we've only been dating for a month. I don't know about you, but it'd be my first time and I want it to be special to both of us" he said.

Makoto was so happy to hear him say that. It filled her with incredible joy and relief that he felt the same way that she did. She pulled him into a hug, her nose right up against his.

"It will. For both of us." she said, with a big smile on her face.

Akira matched that smile of hers, before leaning down and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. He then proceeded to get up out of bed, both of them noting the now absent warmth. He went down to the back of the room to turn the light off before getting back in bed with her. They wrapped their arms around each other, Makoto snuggling her head into his chest, hearing his heartbeat.

"I love you." she said.

"I love you too, Makoto." he replied.

"Please, come back to me, Joker." she said, using his code name in an adorable way.

Akira let out a low laugh. "I will, though you better be waiting for me as well."

Makoto now laughed. "Don't worry. I will be. I always will be." she said as she slowly drifted off to sleep. She was tired after a roller coaster of a day.

Akira watched her eyes slowly close and felt her breathing regulate into a slow pattern, before he laid his head on his pillow and did the same. He placed a kiss on her forehead before closing his eyes and letting sleep overtake him.

Morgana saw that the lights were off at Leblanc, so he figured they were both asleep by this point. He jumped up to the windowsill and opened Akira's window just small enough for him to fit through, before closing it. He didn't want the chilly November air to make it's way into the attic, after all. When he turned around, he was greeted with the sight of Joker and Queen holding each other tightly as they slept, their breathing in unison. Morgana smiled before jumping onto Akira's couch from his work desk.

"If Gods really do exist, it looks like they finally gave him a break." he thought. Morgana liked to joke around, but he genuinely was happy for the both of them. Akira in particular had been a victim of the whims of fate for too long, he felt, so finding someone like Makoto was the kind of blessing Morgana felt he deserved.

"Joker, you better come back. I'm not going to want to deal with Queen without you." Morgana thought. "Also...for my sake. You're my best friend." he thought, thinking about how their relationship evolved over time, from one of convenience to one of actual friendship.

Morgana bundled himself into a cat ball on the couch before closing his eyes.

"We will not fail." was his last thought before sleep overtook him as well.

"Wake up, get up, get out there!"

Akira's alarm clock on his cell phone starting going off. He woke up to find him and Makoto on opposite sides of the bed, the body heat becoming too much for them in their sleep. However, their hands were still connected, a thought which he found funny. He reached his windowsill to turn off his cell phone alarm, before turning back in bed and kissing Makoto's forehead.

"Good morning." he said as crimson eyes started to open to meet his.

"Good morning." she replied back as wrapped herself around him once more. Makoto closed her eyes, privately hoping that it was still midnight and they would have more time together. No such luck, as Morgana was awake as well, perched right at the foot of the bed, on Makoto's foot, specifically.

"Good morning lovebirds." he taunted.

Makoto took the opportunity to lightly kick him off the bed for that comment.

"How rude." he said as he got up off the floor.

"That's my line." Makoto replied right back at him. Both her and Akira sat up in bed. It was then that Makoto noticed Akira had laid her washed clothes on his work desk.

"Do you want to shower first?" she asked him.

"You can go ahead. I plan on taking a little while since we have some time." he replied.

Makoto checked the clock. It was 6:30. They needed to be at school by 8:30, so they didn't have to rush in the shower or anything. Akira probably wanted to take his time in the shower to collect his thoughts.

"Okay." replied Makoto as she got up and grabbed her clothes.

Morgana came back on the bed once she left.

"You know, you're pretty lucky to have a girl like that. She's no Lady Ann, but she's certainly amazing in her own right. Who would've thought that you'd be dating the Miss Student Council President that was stalking you in the beginning." he said.

"I know. She is amazing." Akira replied. Morgana could sense the affection he held for her in his words.

"Just don't piss her off, I won't be able to bail you out if Queen starts to come out." he said, referring to her temperament when fighting shadows.

"Oh, and you better help me win over Lady Ann now that you're off the market. I always  
thought you'd be my biggest competition so now, you're my wingman." said Morgana.

Akira rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure, chief." he said.

Morgana smiled and took that as a compliment.

When Makoto came out of the shower, she was dressed in her school uniform. She saw Akira and Morgana making infiltration tools at his desk, with Akira's face deep in concentration.

"I'm all done." she said gently, not wanting to rouse his focus.

Akira put the tools down. "Okay, I'll be right out." he said, grabbing his own school uniform and heading down to the shower.

Makoto looked over at the desk. There were completed and partially completed lockpicks strewn all about, as well as something she couldn't figure out.

"It's a treasure trap. It's supposed to help lure out the treasure demons." explained Morgana.

"Ah. Morgana, where do you learn to make all of this stuff?" she asked.

"I don't know. It's just one of the memories that I do have." replied the cat.

Suddenly, Makoto's phone lit up.

"You guys are so cute! I didn't know you two were dating! Why didn't you tell any of us?" said Futaba.

Makoto felt her eye twitch. She forgot that Futaba had bugged Akira's phone before the Hawaii trip.

"How long were you listening in?" replied Makoto.

"Only about 5 minutes. I was working on the code for todays mission and I accidentally activated the bug on Akira's phone. I heard some sweet ilu's though =)" replied the hacker.

Makoto audibly sighed, before continuing to type.

"We'll tell everyone when the time is right. With the mission coming up..." she said.

"Got it." replied Futaba. "Still, I'm so happy 4 u!"

"Thank you. That really means a lot." replied Makoto. She didn't think her friends would disapprove of their relationship but she was still nervous about telling them.

"Anyway, see you later. And don't worry, I won't say anything." Futaba typed out.

"Got it. Thanks. See you soon." replied Makoto.

Akira got out of the shower, his normally bushy hair slightly matted down from the water.

"Well, looks like we don't have to tell Futaba about our relationship now." said Makoto.

Akira tensed up for a brief second before remembering.

"Damn. I forgot she had bugged my phone." he said.

"She promised to let us be the ones to tell the others, so at least there's that." she said.

They both grabbed their things, with Morgana jumping into Akira's bag. They were early, so Sojiro wasn't here yet. Akira texted him to let him know he was leaving early for school. Before they reached the door, Akira turned back to Makoto.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yes, are you?" she replied.

"As I'll ever be." he said.  
As he was turning the lock, Makoto turned his head around and kissed him. She poured all of her passion and energy into that kiss and Akira reciprocated.

"Aww, grossACK." replied Morgana, before Akira shoved the bag into the door, crushing him. Akira turned back to Makoto.

"I'll be back." he said, staring into her eyes.

"I know. A true masked hero never lets down his friends, after all." she replied with a smile.

Akira sent the smile right back at her and kissed her once more.

"I love you." he said.

"I love you too." she replied, grabbing his hand.

They made their way out the door hand in hand, walking to the Yongen-jaya station. Last night turned out to be not what either of them expected. However, both were happy and filled with a newfound resolve to succeed in their mission. Right before they reached the station, Akira gripped Makoto's hand tighter. He turned to her.

"It's show time." he said. She nodded back at him with a smile. They let go of their hands and walked into the station, both confident that, after the mission was done, they'd be there on the other side.

"Look who's here."

Those words were what the entire group was waiting to hear. Once they had heard the news that he was actually alive, a wave of relief washed over all of them. Akira walked into Leblanc with Sojiro by his side. The moment he walked in, the Phantom Thieves rushed up to their leader. Ryuji wrapped an arm around him.

"Hey, you big bastard!" he said.

"How've you been?" Ann asked. They were all worried about him. When they got up close, they could see the battle scars from his interrogation. His school uniform was a bit tattered and torn, his hair was messy and there were some black and blue marks visible on his face and neck. He also seemed to be swaying a bit back and forth, even though he had been sleeping for most of the day. From where they were standing, it was obvious that he had gone through a serious ordeal lasting through that interrogation. It wouldn't surprise them if he just passed out right in front of them. For a brief moment, they were worried that there were permanent scars.

"I mean, I died..." replied Akira.

Just like that, any worries they had about their leader vanished into thin air.

"You must be fine if you're joking around like that." replied Ann.

Akira took a brief look around the room. All of his teammates were here, each with a large smile on their face. His eyes stopped, however, on Makoto. It had been two days since he'd seen her and, well, he missed her. He wanted to run right up to her and brag about how right he was when he told her that he'd come back. But he kept it to himself for now. He needed a break from being Joker for tonight. Makoto, for her part, lit up even more when Akira turned his head towards her.

"It truly is a relief to see your face." she said.

Akira felt as though he had just completed all of Hercules' trials. He was exhausted; the only thing keeping him standing was the want to see his friends again, but he felt like a champion deep down, pulling off a near-impossible task and living to tell the tale. Now, all he wanted to do was relax and see his friends. They all knew, however, that the fight wasn't over yet, far from it. For now, though, they were all content in basking in the afterglow, however brief, that the plan had succeeded and their leader had returned to them.

Akira only half paid attention as his teammates explained to their new accomplices: How the plan worked, how they reached the conclusions they did and how their cat can talk. Both Sae and Sojiro listened on with disbelief and awe. Akira, meanwhile, would be laughing at Sojiro's face when he was told that Morgana can talk. Well, he would, if his head didn't feel like it weighed a million pounds. Offering rebuttals here and there, he found himself struggling to stay awake once again. 'It must've been the drug.' he thought to himself. 'What the hell was even in that thing?' Akira steeled himself to keep from swaying anymore. The last thing he needed was to make his teammates worry more about his current condition. He came back as Makoto was talking.

"...the callous use of violence and even drugs is utterly abnormal. If he had lost consciousness and hadn't been able to tell sis about the phone, he would've died." she said.

Makoto felt anger welling up in herself again. When she heard about how he had been treated during the interrogation, it took most of her strength to keep herself from punching the nearest wall. She had managed to have it dissipate once she saw Sojiro tell her that he was okay. She didn't know who or what to thank, but she was glad that Akira was stubborn enough to keep himself awake so he could carry out the plan. She turned toward him.

"I'm...truly glad you made it back safe, Akira-kun." she said. She wanted to say more but, with present company, decided to keep it short and simple.

Akira cocked his head from side to side.

"It was a breeze." he said, as if what he just went through was a walk in the park.

Everyone was glad to see their leader was back to his old, joking self. Sae found herself laughing.

"How tough are you?" she replied.

The group went back to discussing the situation at hand. They figured out their next move; Akechi's boss, Masayoshi Shido. Ryuji had already figured out that he had a palace and that it was located at the diet building. All that was left was to find out what his keyword was.

"You okay there, dude?" asked Ryuji, snapping Akira out of a sleep he wasn't aware he was falling into.

Akira's head jumped up and he gasped. Makoto saw his tired eyes and answered for him.

"Why don't we call it a night. We can meet at the Diet Building and continue this tomorrow. For now, though, our leader should get some sleep." she said.

"Nah, I can-" Akira tried to get up from the booth but his legs gave way. He would have hit the floor had Ryuji and Yusuke not caught him.

"You can get some sleep." Makoto finished for him.

Akira, knowing his girlfriend, knew not to fight it.

"I drove the car here so you can ride with me." Sae said to Makoto. She then turned to the Phantom Thieves.

"Anyone need a ride to the train station? My car won't fit all of you but I can still drive some of you there." she offered.

"I appreciate it but I think it would be unfair for some of us to get rides and some of us to walk." replied Yusuke, letting go of Akira's arm.

"Are you sure? I can take multiple trips." she replied.

"We'll be fine. The station isn't that long a walk from here anyway. Besides, we have some time until the trains stop running." Ryuji said as he helped Akira to the stairs.

"We really do appreciate the offer, Niijima-san. But you and Mako-chan should get home yourselves. You're probably still exhausted from all the events that took place as well." said Haru.

"Very well." Sae said, turning around and walking back to the door.

"I'll be right there, sis." Makoto said to her.

"Alright. Don't take too long, though." Sae said to her with a smile.

Makoto felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders seeing her sister smile like that again. The whole reason she joined the Phantom Thieves; this was it. Now, they had to finish what they started.

Speaking of lifting weights off of shoulders.

"Akira." Makoto said.

Ryuji stopped and helped Akira turn around towards Makoto.

She then walked up to him and, in front of everyone, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I'm so happy to see you're alive." she said, smiling right up at him.

Akira smiled back at her as well.

"THE HELL?!" shouted Ryuji, ruining the moment like always.

Makoto's smile turned into one of mischief. Akira realized that this had been her plan all along. He then found his own smile briefly warping into his Joker smile. Makoto turned around to face the group.

"Well, we've been wanting to tell you guys for a while, but we're dating." she said, matter-of-factly.

"For real?!" said Ann, echoing Ryuji's catchphrase.

"Oh wow! That's so exciting, you two!" said Haru.

Futaba and Morgana merely laughed to themselves.

"You guys are so cute." said Futaba.

"How long have you two been hiding this from us?" asked Yusuke.

"About a month now. I asked her out the day after the school festival." Akira replied.

"Wow, look at you. First, you outsmart the police. Then you trick Akechi into thinking he killed you and now you're dating Miss Student Council President. You really are one big bastard." Ryuji said, wearing a grin of pride for his friend.

"Haha. Well, you're lucky you're holding onto me, or else Makoto would probably smack you right now." he said back.

"I agree with my boyfriend." said Makoto, glaring at Ryuji.

"Y-y-y-yes ma'am." Ryuji stuttered out. He swore he could see fire in Makoto's eyes for a second.

"Anyway, we should probably get going so Akira can get some sleep." said Yusuke.

"Okay, I'll text you guys when I get home. And Makoto, you are spilling the details of how he asked you out the next time we get crepes." said Ann, excitedly.

"Hehe, okay." said Makoto nervously.

"Night guys." said Akira as Ryuji helped him up the stairs.

The group gathered their coats and exited Leblanc into the chilly night air. Makoto's sister wasn't too far away so she separated from the group and went to her sister's car. When they started driving, Makoto found a text message on her phone.

"Why didn't you tell any of us?!" Ann asked.

"With the mission coming up at the time, we didn't feel it was appropriate. We wanted everyone to focus on that first." Makoto replied.

"You're so professional, Mako-chan." replied Haru.

"Yes, although, I can't imagine the pains you went through, knowing your lover was being thrown into the dragon's mouth. The strength you carry yourself with is enviable." replied Yusuke.

Makoto found herself blushing at the word 'lover'.

"It was tough, but we made it through. Now the real challenge begins." she replied.

The text messages stopped coming for a bit. Makoto assumed everyone was on the subway so they wouldn't have service.

"Kurusu-san sure is interesting." Sae said.

"Oh, yeah. Interesting is certainly the word I'd use." Makoto replied awkwardly, hoping Sae didn't figure anything out.

"He's tough, dependable, cares about his friends. He wouldn't sell any of you out even though I figured out your identities." said Sae.

"Oh, really?" Makoto said awkwardly, trying to keep the conversation afloat.

Sae let a pause hang in the air for a brief moment as she turned off of the backstreets.

"Not bad for your first boyfriend." she said.

"What?" Makoto gasped, incredulous as to how Sae put that together. "How did you?" she asked.

Sae hummed quietly and smiled.

"You were probably too young to remember this, but whenever Dad came back from work after he'd been out on an assignment, Mom would look at him a certain way.

"Oh?" replied Makoto, interested as to where this was going.

"I don't know exactly what assignments he was going out on but Mom would always look at him really lovingly when he came back. It was beyond just relief, she had a bounce in her step. She would look at him as if she had just fallen in love with him once again." Sae said. "I was in high school at the time and the idea of dating had just entered my head. Their relationship was always my benchmark for what I thought a relationship should be."

Makoto was at a loss for words. She was only 5 when her mother died, so she never really saw this side of her.

"The way you looked at Kurusu-kun was exactly how mom used to look at dad." she said. "Plus, I found two Destinyland ticket stubs sitting on the kitchen table, along with a photo of you two going down Slosh Summit, arm in arm."

Makoto was truly impressed by Sae's deductive abilities. Then again, Makoto did trip up, forgetting to put those back in her room when she came home.

"I'm sure you've told him this, but if he ever does anything to you, I'll crush him like the ant he is." Sae said.  
Makoto quietly laughed at her sister's protectiveness. After so long, it was refreshing.

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself sis. Besides, I wouldn't be dating him if he wasn't a genuinely good guy." she said.  
Sae quietly hummed to herself.

"Well, just be careful." Sae said. "Though I can't blame you for falling for him. The one thing that pissed me off the most during his interrogation was how tightly he stuck to his justice. In that regard, though, I'm sure he's a kindred spirit of dad."

Makoto felt a strange peace upon hearing that. Maybe her dad would like Akira after all.

"He's a good guy." Sae said.

"I know." Makoto said, smiling back at Sae.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. She opened it to find a text message from Akira.

"Morgana's upset that now that everyone knows, he can't use our relationship to extort sushi out of us."

Makoto smiled to herself. Akira really was a great guy. She typed the only thing she could think of as a reply.

"I love you. Now go to bed."


End file.
